At what point (distance and/or time) do you bring water with you? I am up to about a hour of running, I drink a big glass before and a couple after, but none during. Don't feel like I need it! What about you? How do you carry it?
Water?
- Thread starter Bill B
- Start date
I do the same, some water before and after, but I don't carry any with me. I'm up to 1:44 running, not sure if I should be carrying water after that or not either...I did notice my leg got cramps easily after. Possibly dehydrated?
I think there's a few variables at play Bill: ambient temp & direct sun, how much heat you are generating (a combination of speed, build, metabolism), relative humidity and whether you are breathing through mouth vs nose, and of course how well hydrated you are at the start (aka how many beers were had the night before...)
That said I'm usually ok without water in training runs up to about 2 hours. I normally run around in circles or on a route that has water fountains so don't carry any. On occasional trails runs of about 6 hours I will take a 2 litre camelback which gets refilled halfway, so 4L all up which gets finished. I don't fancy hand bottles as I find it really important to synchronise my hand/arm movements with my legs (especially when barefoot on variable surfaces) and I just feel having a heavy bottle in one hand would interfere with that.
That said I'm usually ok without water in training runs up to about 2 hours. I normally run around in circles or on a route that has water fountains so don't carry any. On occasional trails runs of about 6 hours I will take a 2 litre camelback which gets refilled halfway, so 4L all up which gets finished. I don't fancy hand bottles as I find it really important to synchronise my hand/arm movements with my legs (especially when barefoot on variable surfaces) and I just feel having a heavy bottle in one hand would interfere with that.
Heat does make a difference! On hotter days, I should carry some, but like yourself, I hate having something in my hands. Already have my partners leash in my left hand. No water available as I live in the country.
In normal conditions (i.e. not too hot) I'll take a water bottle for 10 K + runs.
In hot conditions I carry a water bottle (in a belt) even for 5 K runs.
If I don't know how long I'm going to run (trying out a new path) I always take a bottle and something to eat as well (apple or nuts and raisins)
In hot conditions I carry a water bottle (in a belt) even for 5 K runs.
If I don't know how long I'm going to run (trying out a new path) I always take a bottle and something to eat as well (apple or nuts and raisins)
Like DayRunner says, there's a lot of factors, but for me, I prefer to carry the water internally, so I guzzle a bunch of water before a longer run. For an hour or less, if it's not too warm out, I don't really bother thinking about hydration.
If it's going to be more than an hour and it's warm out, I'll guzzle until I have to pee every 15 minutes or so. That's when I know I'm saturated. I've never been on a run where that hasn't been enough, and the one time I did carry water with me on a really hot day (like 90 F/30C or over), the water made me nauseous and I had to walk for several blocks after drinking it. So this summer I mostly ran in the morning on hot days, and stuck to my pre-run guzzling approach.
I would imagine if I were to run more than 2-3 hours when it's warm out, I'd have to stop to drink water, but then I'd probably have to stop to stretch my legs in any case. But 2-3 hours is my current running limit, so it hasn't yet been an issue.
If you do go for some kind of in-run water supply, I think the best place to carry weight is on the hips, not the shoulders. Although I've never tried it, hand-held water bottles seem like a bad idea. Like DayRunner says, I would imagine putting weight at the end of your leg's counter-motion (i.e., the hand on the opposite side) would screw up your mechanics.
If it's going to be more than an hour and it's warm out, I'll guzzle until I have to pee every 15 minutes or so. That's when I know I'm saturated. I've never been on a run where that hasn't been enough, and the one time I did carry water with me on a really hot day (like 90 F/30C or over), the water made me nauseous and I had to walk for several blocks after drinking it. So this summer I mostly ran in the morning on hot days, and stuck to my pre-run guzzling approach.
I would imagine if I were to run more than 2-3 hours when it's warm out, I'd have to stop to drink water, but then I'd probably have to stop to stretch my legs in any case. But 2-3 hours is my current running limit, so it hasn't yet been an issue.
If you do go for some kind of in-run water supply, I think the best place to carry weight is on the hips, not the shoulders. Although I've never tried it, hand-held water bottles seem like a bad idea. Like DayRunner says, I would imagine putting weight at the end of your leg's counter-motion (i.e., the hand on the opposite side) would screw up your mechanics.
When I run in the oppressively hot / humid summer, I make a point of running routes that have water available. I know I've had runs where stopping to drink after 20 minutes and then every 15 or so seemed just fine.
When we're into the cooler days, like now, I do the Bare Lee gurgle, and tank up a bit beforehand. At training pace in cooler weather, I've been good for 10 or 12 miles with no worries.
When we're into the cooler days, like now, I do the Bare Lee gurgle, and tank up a bit beforehand. At training pace in cooler weather, I've been good for 10 or 12 miles with no worries.
I pretty much always carry water when running. Usually I don't need it. It's just that when I was younger I didn't carry any water and did some long runs where I got really thirsty and I still remember those runs and especially the feelings of thirstiness too well. I also sometimes do spontaneous long runs, meaning that I might have planned to run some 5K, but end up with 25K so if I have some water with me, the possibility of going longer is bigger.. 
I never carry water, but my longest runs are around an hour and a bit at the moment. To be honest I hate carrying anything at all while running (even a phone is too much of an annoyance for me), so if I was to find a distance where I start feeling like I need a drink, I would plan things out to make sure I found a water fountain on my route, or if that wasn't possible I would consider leaving water somewhere on the route beforehand.
Anything over 10 miles I will bring water, then again weather can change that. I use a hand held.
I had a scarey incident when I ran a 20 miler a few days ago, after the run my urine was dark rustic color, like coffee. I did have my hand held but didn't finish the water, it's a 20oz, I was severely dehydrated.
I had a scarey incident when I ran a 20 miler a few days ago, after the run my urine was dark rustic color, like coffee. I did have my hand held but didn't finish the water, it's a 20oz, I was severely dehydrated.
I'll get dehydrated on longer runs in the summer, particularly if the humidity is high, and tend to use a hand-held for runs longer than about 15 miles. In the cooler months I can happily run 20 plus with no fluid intake - I need a bunch when I'm done though!
i've run for hours on end with out water. i only carry it for my dog in the summer and i'll drink some with him then. otherwise no drinking. i almost drank some during my 10k yesterday but the volunteer's hands were empty when i got to her.
I almost always bring water, as often it's the only water I drink some days. I just don't really care for water unless I'm thirsty, and I'm usually only thirsty if I'm working hard. Now I can usually go up to 10k without, but most of my runs are 10k+. Trying to chug a bunch of water before hand usually makes me a bit nauseous. And this summer I experienced some minor dehydration so I tend to err on the side of caution. Luckily I didn't start getting dizzy until I was home. And that day I started out with 40 ounces. I had a hip belt one initially, then got a Nathan vest, and like it much better. I tend to carry a few things with me, so the vest is handy. YMMV
This thread is getting a bit old, but thought I'd put in my two cents. I'm training for my first marathon. I hate running in circles and enjoy spontaneity, so my route isn't always completely planned. I'm not very fast, so even a half marathon is going to take me more than 2 hours. I've been using a 2L camelback. I wouldn't mind trying a "waist" carrying method, but I don't know if you can find that volume. I don't mind the extra weight, because I figure that helps build strength. But I have had to devise a way to prevent shoulder chaffing.
Hello Dan, and welcome to the forums. I use a 2L Nathan vest, can't say that I've ever had problems with shoulder chaffing. Are you wearing a shirt? The couple times I tried it without a shirt I got a bit of chaffing, but on my lower back where the heaviest part of the pack would move a little side to side as I ran. I was debating on trying to put bodyglide on my back there and try it again, but its to hard to reach, so I just always wear a shirt if I'm going to use my hydration pack.
I use a 2L Nathan vest, can't say that I've ever had problems with shoulder chaffing. Are you wearing a shirt? The couple times I tried it without a shirt I got a bit of chaffing, but on my lower back where the heaviest part of the pack would move a little side to side as I ran. I was debating on trying to put bodyglide on my back there and try it again, but its to hard to reach, so I just always wear a shirt if I'm going to use my hydration pack.
Currently, I carry water on runs if the dewpoint is above 70 degrees and there's a lot of sun. The other instance of carrying water is the cross-country trail run I do in a nature preserve on Sundays, I keep the effort light on it because I've usually done a long run on Saturday and carry a water bottle with me to drink from when I decide to use a walking break. That run isn't about being done fast or anything, it's just about getting some more time in running easy and enjoying the feel of dirt, grass, mud and rocks under my feet.
Those are my favorite runs. I always bring water for those runs because I don't know where I'm going or when ill be back.
I also keep a $5 bill in my pocket, so I can stop for water and something to eat if needed.
To Tristan-OH: I'm usually wearing a tech shirt. In the winter my long sleeve seemed to provide enough protection around shoulders and neck, but with short sleeves sometimes not. On some runs, if I felt to warm I raised the bottom of my shirt over my head without removing it. In that case I discovered that my neck and shoulders were well protected from chaffing, but my lower back became irritated. My current compromise: I wear one shirt in a normal fashion, and a second shirt with the bottom pulled up as described before. Admittedly I can't achieve the coolness of being shirtless this way, but I have had no chaffing and find it no warmer than a single normally worn shirt.
